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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · cue · pitcher · hand · race · squash · spell · spring

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — in cards
  3. spring — the season
  4. cue — a signal
  5. hand — help
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — letters
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cue — a hint
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — magic
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cue — for pool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. race — a contest
  24. squash — the sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com